U.S. patent number 11,052,833 [Application Number 16/349,511] was granted by the patent office on 2021-07-06 for camera mounting structure, camera apparatus, and jacket.
This patent grant is currently assigned to SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION. The grantee listed for this patent is SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Eiji Oba.
United States Patent |
11,052,833 |
Oba |
July 6, 2021 |
Camera mounting structure, camera apparatus, and jacket
Abstract
Provided is a camera mounting structure for attaching an
in-vehicle camera to a vehicle. An optical protection window cover
503 is inserted into an opening 500 on the vehicle body side
together with a camera 500 main body. It is possible to reduce the
proportion of the water droplet 502 adhering to the surface of the
optical protection window cover 503 with respect to the viewing
angle of the camera 500, enabling the observer to visually
recognize the presence of the water droplet 502 in visual
examination of an image. In addition, the optical protection window
cover 503 uses its body 602 to cover the side surface of a camera
apparatus main body to implement positional alignment of a camera
apparatus.
Inventors: |
Oba; Eiji (Tokyo,
JP) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION |
Kanagawa |
N/A |
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS
CORPORATION (Kanagawa, JP)
|
Family
ID: |
1000005661639 |
Appl.
No.: |
16/349,511 |
Filed: |
October 19, 2017 |
PCT
Filed: |
October 19, 2017 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/JP2017/037864 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
May 13, 2019 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2018/105245 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
June 14, 2018 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20190337466 A1 |
Nov 7, 2019 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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|
|
|
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Dec 5, 2016 [JP] |
|
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JP2016-236109 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R
1/00 (20130101); H04N 5/2252 (20130101); H04N
5/2257 (20130101); B60R 11/04 (20130101); H01R
13/627 (20130101); G03B 17/08 (20130101); B60R
2011/0071 (20130101); B60R 2300/80 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B60R
11/04 (20060101); B60R 1/00 (20060101); G03B
17/08 (20210101); H01R 13/627 (20060101); H04N
5/225 (20060101); B60R 11/00 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1101757 |
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Apr 1995 |
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CN |
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101428591 |
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May 2009 |
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CN |
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102162977 |
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Aug 2011 |
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CN |
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4428192 |
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Feb 1995 |
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DE |
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10162652 |
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DE |
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0617486 |
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EP |
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2280995 |
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GB |
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07-236134 |
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JP |
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2541592 |
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2541592 |
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JP |
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2541592 |
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Jul 1997 |
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JP |
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11-112968 |
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Apr 1999 |
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JP |
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3061097 |
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JP |
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2001-197337 |
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Jul 2001 |
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JP |
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2005-512876 |
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May 2005 |
|
JP |
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2007-261503 |
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Oct 2007 |
|
JP |
|
2009-113735 |
|
May 2009 |
|
JP |
|
2009-113736 |
|
May 2009 |
|
JP |
|
2011-164461 |
|
Aug 2011 |
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JP |
|
2015-046775 |
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Mar 2015 |
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JP |
|
2003/053743 |
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Jul 2003 |
|
WO |
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Other References
International Search Report and Written Opinion of PCT Application
No. PCT/JP2017/037864, dated Jan. 23, 2018, 12 pages of ISRWO.
cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Nazrul; Shahbaz
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Chip Law Group
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A camera mounting structure, comprising: an opening in a vehicle
body to accommodate an in-vehicle camera; and a jacket configured
to retain the in-vehicle camera in the opening of the vehicle body,
wherein the jacket includes: a body; and a waterproof part
configured to prevent flow of water into a gap between the opening
of the vehicle body and the in-vehicle camera, the waterproof part
is at a middle portion, of the body of the jacket, in a depth
direction of the opening, the waterproof part is crushed between a
wall surface of the opening of the vehicle body and a side wall
surface of the in-vehicle camera, in a case where the jacket and
the in-vehicle camera are inserted into the opening of the vehicle
body, and a portion of the body of the jacket is below the
waterproof part in the depth direction of the opening.
2. The camera mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the
body of the jacket is configured to cover the side wall surface of
the in-vehicle camera.
3. The camera mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the
jacket further includes a transparent head configured to cover one
of a lens or an optical window of the in-vehicle camera.
4. The camera mounting structure according to claim 3, wherein a
position of the transparent head of the jacket is different from a
position of the one of the lens or the optical window of the
in-vehicle camera, in the case where the jacket and the in-vehicle
camera are inserted into the opening of the vehicle body.
5. The camera mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the
jacket further includes an influent trap in front of the waterproof
part.
6. The camera mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the
jacket further includes a latch unit, and the opening includes a
fitting portion configured to fit with the latch unit.
7. The camera mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the
jacket further includes a latch unit, and the in-vehicle camera
includes a fitting portion configured to fit with the latch
unit.
8. The camera mounting structure according to claim 1, further
comprising a connector configured to electrically connect the
in-vehicle camera to the vehicle body.
9. The camera mounting structure according to claim 8, wherein the
connector includes: a connector plug in the in-vehicle camera; and
a connector receptacle, wherein the connector receptacle is
insertable at a specific location on the opening of the vehicle
body.
10. The camera mounting structure according to claim 9, wherein the
connector plug further includes a cam structure slidably insertable
into the connector receptacle, in a case where the in-vehicle
camera is inserted into the opening.
11. The camera mounting structure according to claim 8, wherein the
electrical connection is implemented by a coaxial cable.
12. The camera mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the
opening is molded by a first mold, the vehicle body is molded by a
second mold, and the first mold is incorporated as a nested
structure into a part of the second mold.
13. The camera mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the
jacket is integrated with the vehicle body.
14. The camera mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the
jacket is integrated with the in-vehicle camera.
15. A camera apparatus, comprising: a fitting portion configured to
fit with a latch of a jacket, wherein the camera apparatus is
mountable, in an opening of a vehicle body, by the jacket, the
jacket includes a waterproof part at a middle portion, of a body of
the jacket, in a depth direction of the opening, the latch of the
jacket is below the waterproof part in the depth direction of the
opening, and the latch of the jacket is fit in with the fitting
portion of the camera apparatus; and a connector configured to
electrically connect to the vehicle body.
16. A jacket, comprising: a body; a first latch configured to fit
to an opening of a vehicle body, wherein the jacket and a camera
apparatus are insertable into the opening of the vehicle body; a
waterproof part configured to prevent flow of water into a gap
between the opening of the vehicle body and the camera apparatus,
wherein the waterproof part is at a middle portion, of the body of
the jacket, in a depth direction of the opening, the waterproof
part is crushed between a wall surface of the opening of the
vehicle body and a side wall surface of the camera apparatus, in a
case where the jacket and the camera apparatus are inserted into
the opening of the vehicle body, and a portion of the body of the
jacket is below the waterproof part in the depth direction of the
opening; and a second latch configured to fit to the camera
apparatus.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a U.S. National Phase of International Patent
Application No. PCT/JP2017/037864 filed on Oct. 19, 2017, which
claims priority benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. JP
2016-236109 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Dec. 5, 2016. Each
of the above-referenced applications is hereby incorporated herein
by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The technology disclosed herein relates to a camera mounting
structure configured to mount an in-vehicle camera to a vehicle, a
camera apparatus, and a jacket.
BACKGROUND ART
Recently, a larger number of automobiles are equipped with cameras.
For example, a round-view camera including a rear camera can be an
extremely effective means for safety in a vehicle type having a
high driver's seat surface and thus having a wider blind spots for
the driver, such as a sport utility vehicle (SUV) and the like in
that it can prevent accidents against small children overlooked at
the time of backing the automobile. In North America and other
countries, installation of in-vehicle cameras is mandated.
Similarly to operating a lighting device during nighttime driving,
normal operation of an in-vehicle camera throughout the operation
time of the vehicle is now needed.
In-vehicle cameras intended for around viewing are mounted to a
plurality of positions of a vehicle body, for example, at front
grille, rear garnish, mirror housing or the like. In addition, in
order to ensure the accuracy of the mounting position, a casing of
the in-vehicle camera is typically secured by interposing a
mounting conversion member also called a "bracket" between the
camera and the vehicle body by screwing or the like (for example,
refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2).
CITATION LIST
Patent Document
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
2007-261503 Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application
Laid-Open No. 2009-113735 Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent No.
3061097
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
An object of the technology disclosed in the present specification
is to provide a camera mounting structure, a camera apparatus, and
a jacket that can suitably mount an in-vehicle camera to a
vehicle.
Solutions to Problems
The technology disclosed in the present specification has been made
in consideration of the above-described problem, and one embodiment
of this technology is a camera mounting structure including: an
opening formed in a vehicle body to accommodate an in-vehicle
camera; and a jacket retained on the opening and configured to
retain the in-vehicle camera. Here, the opening is molded by a
second mold created separately from a first mold, which is
incorporated as a nested structure into a part of the first mold
for molding the vehicle body, making it possible to increase the
molding accuracy of the camera in the mounting direction, for
example, an order of magnitude higher than the molding accuracy of
the vehicle body. Furthermore, the jacket may be formed integrally
with the vehicle body. Alternatively, the jacket may be formed
integrally with the in-vehicle camera.
According to a second aspect of the technology disclosed in the
present specification, in the camera mounting structure according
to the first aspect, the jacket includes a body that covers a side
surface of the in-vehicle camera.
According to a third aspect of the technology disclosed in the
present specification, in the camera mounting structure according
to the first aspect, the jacket further includes a transparent head
that covers a lens or an optical window of the in-vehicle
camera.
According to a fourth aspect of the technology disclosed in the
present specification, in the camera mounting structure according
to the third aspect, the head of the jacket is disposed separated
from the lens or the optical window of the in-vehicle camera.
According to a fifth aspect of the technology disclosed in the
present specification, the camera mounting structure according to
the first aspect further includes a waterproof part that prevents
water flowing into a gap between the opening and the in-vehicle
camera.
According to a sixth aspect of the technology disclosed in the
present specification, in the camera mounting structure according
to the fifth aspect, the jacket includes an influent trap in front
of the waterproof part.
According to a seventh aspect of the technology disclosed in the
present specification, in the camera mounting structure according
to the first aspect, the jacket includes a first latch unit, and
the opening includes a first fitting portion to be fitted with the
first latch unit.
According to an eighth aspect of the technology disclosed in the
present specification, in the camera mounting structure according
to the first aspect, the jacket includes a second latch unit, and
the in-vehicle camera includes a second fitting portion to be
fitted with the second latch unit.
According to a ninth aspect of the technology disclosed in the
present specification, the camera mounting structure according to
the first aspect further includes a connector to electrically
connect the in-vehicle camera to the vehicle body at the
opening.
According to a tenth aspect of the technology disclosed in the
present specification, in the camera mounting structure according
to the ninth aspect, the connector includes a connector plug
disposed in the in-vehicle camera and a connector receptacle
disposed at a corresponding location on the opening.
According to an eleventh aspect of the technology disclosed in the
present specification, in the camera mounting structure according
to the tenth aspect, the connector plug further includes a cam
structure to be slidably inserted into the connector receptacle
when the in-vehicle camera is inserted into the opening.
According to a twelfth aspect of the technology disclosed in the
present specification, the camera mounting structure according to
the ninth aspect is configured to implement the electrical
connection using a coaxial cable.
Moreover, a thirteenth aspect of the technology disclosed in the
present specification is
a camera apparatus to be mounted to an opening of a vehicle body
using a jacket, the camera apparatus including:
a fitting portion to be fitted with a latch on the jacket side;
and
a connector electrically connected to the vehicle body at the
opening.
Moreover, a fourteenth aspect of the technology disclosed in the
present specification is
a jacket to be mounted to an opening of a vehicle body into which a
camera apparatus is to be inserted, the jacket including:
a first latch to be fitted to the opening; and
a second latch to be fitted to the camera apparatus.
Effects of the Invention
According to the technology disclosed in the present specification,
it is possible to provide a camera mounting structure capable of
mounting an in-vehicle camera to a large-sized component of a
vehicle with high mounting accuracy.
Note that the effects described in the present specification are
merely examples, and the effects of the present invention are not
limited to the described effects. Furthermore, the present
invention can further exert additional effects in addition to the
above effects in some cases.
Still other objects, features and advantages disclosed in the
present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed
description based on the embodiments of the present disclosure to
be described later and attached drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an
in-vehicle camera system 100.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a camera apparatus 200 as
viewed from the front side.
FIG. 3 is a view illustrating an opening for accommodating a camera
apparatus formed on the vehicle body side.
FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a state in which water droplets cover
an optical surface of the camera.
FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a state in which a transparent
optical protection window cover is attached to the front of the
optical surface of the camera.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state before
attaching the optical protection window cover to the surface of the
camera inserted in the vehicle body.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the
optical protection window cover is attached to the surface of a
camera inserted in the vehicle body.
FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a modification of a lock jacket of
the camera apparatus.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the
camera apparatus and the lock jacket are removed from the opening
on the vehicle body side.
FIG. 10 is a view illustrating a specific configuration example of
a locking mechanism of a lock jacket.
FIG. 11 is a view illustrating an operation procedure for mounting
the camera apparatus and the lock jacket to the opening of the
vehicle body.
FIG. 12 is a view illustrating an operation procedure for mounting
the camera apparatus and the lock jacket to the opening of the
vehicle body.
FIG. 13 is a view illustrating an operation procedure for mounting
the camera apparatus and the lock jacket to the opening of the
vehicle body.
FIG. 14 is a view illustrating an operation procedure for mounting
the camera apparatus and the lock jacket to the opening of the
vehicle body.
FIG. 15 is an enlarged view illustrating a structure around a
waterproof ring.
FIG. 16 is a view illustrating a state where a camera apparatus is
attached to an opening of the vehicle body using a sheet metal lock
jacket.
FIG. 17 is a front view, a side view, a perspective view of a sheet
metal lock jacket, and a detailed view of a latch unit.
FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a
camera apparatus is mounted to a vehicle body using a sheet metal
lock jacket.
FIG. 19 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a camera
apparatus mounted to a vehicle body.
FIG. 20 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a state where
a lock jacket alone is attached to an opening of a vehicle
body.
FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view and a perspective view of a lock
jacket and a camera apparatus attached to an opening of a vehicle
body.
FIG. 22 is a view illustrating a state of releasing a retention
state of the latch unit from the inside of the vehicle body.
FIG. 23 is a view illustrating another configuration example of a
lock jacket 2300 including sheet metal.
FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of
the lock jacket 2300 including sheet metal.
FIG. 25 is a view illustrating an example of a configuration of an
electrical contact with the outside of a camera apparatus 2500.
FIG. 26 is a view illustrating a configuration example of an
electrical contact with the outside of the camera apparatus
2500.
FIG. 27 is a view illustrating a configuration example of an
electrical contact with the outside of the camera apparatus
2500.
FIG. 28 is a view illustrating a state in which a camera apparatus
having a cam structure and a lock jacket are attached to an opening
of a vehicle body.
FIG. 29 is a view illustrating a state in which a camera apparatus
having a cam structure and a lock jacket are attached to an opening
of a vehicle body.
FIG. 30 is a view illustrating another configuration example of an
electrical contact with the outside of the camera apparatus
3000.
MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the technology disclosed in the present
specification will be described in detail with reference to the
drawings.
In-vehicle cameras are rapidly spreading, and installation of
in-vehicle cameras is mandatory in some countries. The in-vehicle
camera can be also defined as a camera apparatus used in a state of
being mounted on a vehicle.
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a configuration example of an
in-vehicle camera system 100 mounted on a vehicle. The illustrated
in-vehicle camera system 100 includes a total of four in-vehicle
cameras, namely, a front view camera 101, a rear view camera 102,
and left and right side view cameras 103 and 104. However, there is
no need to provide four in-vehicle cameras. For example, an
in-vehicle camera system can be configured even with one camera of
the front view camera 101, or with five or more cameras mounted on
the vehicle.
Basically, while images captured by the in-vehicle cameras 101 to
104 are used for image display purposes in the vehicle interior, it
is also possible to use the images for object recognition (sensing)
such as surrounding vehicles and pedestrians, roads (lanes), and
road signs, for example. The technology disclosed in the present
specification is supposed to be applied to at least one of the
in-vehicle cameras 101 to 104. Furthermore, the technology
disclosed in the present specification may also be applied to a
cabin view camera 105 installed in a passenger compartment to
capture the state of the driver.
For example, the front view camera 101 is installed in the vicinity
of the front grille of the vehicle and images a region which is a
blind spot from a driver in front of the vehicle. In addition, the
front view camera 101 captures images used in an upper region of
the around view monitor (AVM).
A front view camera electronic control unit (ECU) 111 performs
signal processing including image quality enhancement such as white
balance adjustment on the image captured by the front view camera
101. The image data that has undergone image processing is
transmitted to an image composition ECU 120 via a cable different
from a controller area network (CAN).
The cable here may be a coaxial cable or a twisted pair cable.
Examples of a communication method include Low Voltage Differential
Signaling (LVDS), Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI),
Ethernet, Gigabit Video Interface (GVIF), Gigabit Multimedia Serial
Link (GMSL), Flat Panel Display (FPD)-Link III, and other
standards.
The rear view camera 102 is mounted near a tail gate of a vehicle,
for example. Specific examples of mounting positions include the
side of the handle portion of the tail gate and the vicinity of the
license plate. An optical axis direction of the rear view camera
102 is preferably directed slightly downward from the horizontal
direction. The rear view camera 102 captures an image of a blind
spot region from a driver behind the vehicle and also captures an
image used in the lower region of the AVM. For example, setting the
shift lever 130 of the vehicle to "rearward (R)" starts the rear
view camera 102.
The rear view camera ECU 112 performs signal processing including
image quality enhancement such as white balance adjustment on the
image captured by the rear view camera 102. The image data that has
undergone image processing is transmitted to the image composition
ECU 120 via a cable (same as above) different from the CAN.
The side view cameras 103 and 104 are disposed in the side mirror
casing or in the vicinity of the side mirror, for example, and
captures an image of a blind spot region for the driver located on
the left and right of the vehicle and captures images to be used
for each of left and right regions of the AVM. Furthermore, the
side view cameras 103 and 104 may be applied to a mirrorless
vehicle having a camera monitoring system (CMS) installed instead
of a side mirror.
The side view camera ECUs 113 and 114 perform signal processing
including image quality enhancement such as white balance
adjustment on images captured by the side view cameras 103 and 104,
respectively. The image data that has undergone image processing is
transmitted to the image composition ECU 120 via a cable (same as
above) different from the CAN.
The image composition ECU 120 combines images captured by the
in-vehicle cameras 101 to 104 on the front, rear, and sides to
generate an around-view image.
A display 140 displays images captured by the in-vehicle cameras
101 to 104 on the front, the rear, and the side. For example,
images captured by the in-vehicle cameras 101 to 104 on the front,
rear, and side may be individually displayed, or the around-view
image generated by the image composition ECU 120 may be displayed.
Furthermore, the display 140 may respond to the setting of the
shift lever 130 in "R" and may switch display of a vehicle rear
image captured by the rear view camera 102 and the display of the
around-view image generated by the image composition ECU 120 to
display them at the same time or display one of them at a time.
An in-vehicle camera is preferably usable normally throughout the
operation period of vehicles of 10 to 15 years, for example. In
comparison, most of the camera apparatuses include electronic
devices that implement the functions of state-of-the-art image
processing technologies. There is continuous development of
state-of-the-art semiconductor technology, leading to constant
replacement of cameras with the latest camera apparatuses (that is,
in a short period of time) on the market. That is, the development
cycle of in-vehicle cameras is incompatible with the actual trend
of the automobile industry in which long-term component supply such
as 10 to 15 years is preferred.
It is desirable to ensure the supply of in-vehicle cameras as
stable service components for occurrences of trouble or performance
deterioration due to aging over the lifetime use period of the
vehicle. Furthermore, it is preferable for dealers to minimize the
preparation of stockpile service components for risk avoidance over
the lifetime warranty period of the vehicle.
Here, conducting customization of an in-vehicle camera for
individual vehicle manufacturers, vehicle models, or for individual
installation locations on the same model would result in the
presence of as many in-vehicle cameras as the number obtained by
multiplying manufacturers by the number of models and mounting
locations at maximum. In the introduction period of an in-vehicle
camera, there are cases where the cameras are customized for
individual vehicles due to the nature of being mounted as an
option. In addition, regarding the mounting method of the
in-vehicle camera and the connection harness, it is also assumed
that individual mounting brackets and connection harnesses are
designed for each of vehicles or each of mounting locations such as
rear, front, side, or the like.
However, the burden of continuing to stockpile camera apparatuses
with short development periods over the long lifetime use period of
the vehicles would be excessive for dealers or the like. In a case
where the in-vehicle camera is custom designed despite the limited
number of vehicles sold in an identical model, a lot of resources
would be needed for product distribution management or the
like.
The installation of in-vehicle cameras is going to be ordinary or
mandated, and that the number of shipments of in-vehicle cameras is
expected to dramatically increase in the future. Therefore, the
present applicants consider that it is desirable to standardize the
design of in-vehicle cameras as long-term maintenance components,
similarly to replacement lamps or the like, to ensure compatibility
between manufacturers, between vehicles, and each of mounting
locations.
In view of the above, the present specification will disclose a
technology to achieve a configuration of an in-vehicle camera as a
standardized compact module specializing in basic functions
covering safety needs and achieving an industry standardized
structure for mounting the in-vehicle camera onto the vehicle.
Standardization of the in-vehicle camera and its mounting structure
enables supplying in-vehicle camera as stable service components
and easy replacement with new in-vehicle camera even at the
occurrences of malfunction or performance degradation due to aging.
Furthermore, it is possible to use in-vehicle cameras in common
even for different vehicle types and manufacturers, enabling
minimizing preparation as stockpiling service components.
Furthermore, it is possible to replace the camera with the
state-of-the-art camera system provided by the industry in each of
eras.
In practice, in designing an in-vehicle camera as a standardized
compact module, there are some issues such as installation
tolerance (variations in the direction of the optical axis of a
lens) caused by miniaturization and influence of adhesion of water
droplets due to miniaturization of the lens. These points will be
described in detail below.
For example, it is assumed that a compact module having a
substantially cubic shape of about 20 to 25 millimeters square is
used as an in-vehicle camera for the purpose of around-viewing,
such as a rear camera. In installing such a compact camera
apparatus, there is concern of occurrence of variations in the
orientation of the camera lens with respect to the optical axis. In
a case where the in-vehicle camera is not installed in a desired
direction with respect to the optical axis of the lens, it also
causes troubles such as displaying a video image including a tilted
road surface (or with skew distortion).
To avoid this, a conventional technology often secures a casing of
an in-vehicle camera to each of mounting locations of the vehicle
body with screws or the like with an interposing member referred to
as "brackets" so as to finely adjust the direction of the optical
axis of the lens and to correct backlash between the mounting
location and the casing of the in-vehicle camera (refer to Patent
Documents 1 and 2, for example).
As opposed to this, the present specification will describe in
detail an in-vehicle camera that can be directly mounted to a
vehicle body (a plurality of mounting locations such as a front
grille, a rear garnish, a mirror housing, etc.) without an
interposing member such as a bracket, and a mounting structure of
an in-vehicle camera arranged at the vehicle body side
(predetermined mounting location such as front grille, rear
garnish, mirror housing, etc.) for mounting the in-vehicle camera
without using an interposing member.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a state of a camera
apparatus 200 according to the technology disclosed in the present
specification disassembled in a direction of the optical axis of
the lens as viewed from the front side. The camera apparatus 200 is
used for at least one of the in-vehicle cameras 101 to 105
described above, and more desirably used for all the in-vehicle
cameras 101 to 105.
A housing 210 of the substantially rectangular parallelepiped
camera apparatus 200 is a structure joining a front case 211 and a
rear case 212 as a front-rear pair in the optical axis direction of
the lens. The front case 211 and the rear case 212 are formed into
a substantially rectangular parallelepiped using a resin such as
engineering plastic, for example. In addition, the front case 211
and the rear case 212 are joined together using ultrasonic welding,
screws, adhesives or the like after the edges of their individual
opening portions are abutted against each other. Alternatively, the
front case 211 and the rear case 212 can be formed with a
conductive material such as a magnesium alloy, making it possible
to further enhance the blocking of undesired electromagnetic
waves.
The front case 211 includes, in substantially the center of its
front surface, a circular lens opening portion, and a lens 213
which is an optical light receiving surface is fitted in this lens
opening portion. Although the lens 213 is specifically formed with
a cylindrical lens barrel incorporating a plurality of optical
lenses, a detailed description will be omitted here. In addition, a
back-side edge of the front case body 211 is joined to a front-side
edge of the rear case 212.
The rear case 212 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped
shape linkable with the front case 211. The rear case 212 includes,
on its bottom surface, a connector plug 215 to be connected to a
front substrate 220, which will be described later, and includes,
on its back surface, a connector 214 serving as an electrical
contact with the outside of the camera apparatus 200. The
electrical contact between the camera apparatus 200 and the outside
needs four to six signal lines.
The front case 211 and the rear case 212 described above are
combined to form a housing 210. The housing 210 internally
accommodates a front substrate 220 and a rear substrate 230. Note
that the rear substrate 230 is not necessarily to be provided, and
the camera may have a circuit configuration established with one
substrate.
The front substrate 220 is formed with a printed circuit board
having an imaging element 221 mounted on the front side and having
one or more circuit chips (not illustrated) mounted on the back
side. For example, it is allowable to use, as the imaging element
221, an image sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a
complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). Furthermore, the
imaging element 221 may be a backside illumination type image
sensor. In addition, the circuit chip mounted on the back side of
the front substrate 220 includes a drive circuit for driving the
imaging element 221, an electronic control unit (ECU) that performs
signal processing of the captured image and performs processing of
transmitting image data that has undergone signal processing to the
outside (described above), and the like. Note that the application
target of the technology disclosed in the present specification is
not limited to the configuration having the imaging element 221 and
the circuit chip individually mounted on the substrate of the front
substrate 220. For example, the technology disclosed in the present
specification can be similarly applied to a stacked image sensor in
which the imaging element 221 and a circuit chip are integrally
formed.
The printed circuit board constituting the front substrate 220 is a
rigid structure having a substantially rectangular shape. The front
substrate 220 arranges the imaging element 221 to face the lens 213
disposed at the back side of the front case 210 so as to adjust the
focus of the lens 213 (focus alignment). Note that while the
illustrated example is a case where the front substrate 220
includes one substrate, the front substrate 220 may be formed by
combining two or more substrates.
Furthermore, the front substrate 220 that has completed lens and
optical axis alignment and has been mounted on the front case and
the rear substrate 230 are included as a camera substrate, and this
camera substrate is sealed with the rear case 212. The front case
211 and the rear case 212 are airtightly sealed to each other by
adhesive, screw, ultrasonic welding or the like.
FIG. 3 illustrates an opening 300 formed on the vehicle body side
to accommodate the camera apparatus 200. Basically, the opening 300
has a shape and dimension compatible with the outer shape of the
camera apparatus 200. The camera apparatus 200 is inserted into the
opening 300 so as to be mounted on the vehicle. The camera
apparatus 200 is an in-vehicle camera used in a state mounted on a
vehicle, and the opening 300 is arranged at mounting locations of
an in-vehicle camera on the vehicle body side, such as a front
grille, a rear garnish, and a mirror housing. Furthermore, the
bottom surface of the opening 300 includes a connector receptacle
301 to be joined with the connector plug 215 (described above)
disposed on the back side of the camera apparatus 200. The
connector plug 215 and the connector receptacle 301 are combined to
form a single connector. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a state
where the camera apparatus 200 is inserted into the opening
300.
The opening 300 is formed in a member such as a front grille, a
rear garnish, and a mirror housing. Since these member are large
components, the precision of the mold used for manufacturing these
components is lowered roughly one order of magnitude with respect
to the precision of the precision components used in the camera.
Conventionally, the in-vehicle camera is attached to the vehicle
body via a member such as a bracket so as to ensure the accuracy in
the mounting direction of the in-vehicle camera (as described
above).
However, in a case where installation or replacement of the
in-vehicle camera is performed via an interposing member, and when
the strength of the interposing member is sufficient and the
tolerance accuracy of the mounting orientation of the miniaturized
vehicle-mounted camera is not ensured, there might be cases where
in-vehicle camera is secured in an unintentional direction of the
optical axis of the lens, or the mounting position cannot be
defined, causing fluctuation in the mounting orientation. In a case
where the driver views the image captured by the in-vehicle camera
mounted in such a state, there is a risk of taking an erroneous
steering direction, extremely dangerous from the viewpoint of
safety.
In particular, backward movement of a vehicle is often performed in
a small space such as a garage, and the driver mainly makes
judgment on the basis of a video image captured by the rear camera.
Accordingly, fluctuations in the mounting direction of the rear
camera would cause erroneous steering, which is not preferable.
That is, even in a case where a miniaturized in-vehicle camera is
going to be mounted on a large component manufactured with
rough-precision molds, such as front grille, rear garnish, and
mirror housing, capability of alignment as a precision component
would be preferred.
Meanwhile, when the diameter of the lens 213 as an optical light
receiving surface is miniaturized together with miniaturization of
the main body of the camera apparatus 200, the diameter of water
droplets that adhere to the optical surface (the surface of the
lens 213) in rain, etc., becomes relatively closer to the effective
diameter of the lens 213. Generally, it is assumed that the optical
surface of the lens 213 undergoes water repellent treatment.
However, there might be cases where the water repellency is lowered
due to degradation of water repellent treatment over time or
adhesion of dirt or the like and water droplets spread over
substantially the entire effective optical surface.
FIG. 4 illustrates a state in which water droplets cover the
optical surface of the camera. However, it is assumed that the
illustrated camera 400 is accommodated as an in-vehicle camera in
an opening 410 of the vehicle body. Together with miniaturization
of the camera 400, the lens (or optical window) 401 is also
miniaturized. As a result, a water droplet 402 adhering to the
surface of the lens 401 has a relatively large proportion with
respect to the lens effective diameter, leading to a state where
the viewing angle of the camera 400 is covered widely with a single
particle of the water droplet 402. That is, when the effective
diameter of the optical surface is small, adhesion of a single
particle of water droplet would cover the entire captured image of
the camera 400 with high probability. Under such circumstances, the
distortion in the captured image caused by the water droplet 402
would not only influence a local region but affect the entire image
such that the image appears to be zoomed, or the appears to be
horizontally shifted. Furthermore, since the boundary of the water
droplet 402 would not appear in the captured image of the camera
400, distortion or image shift appears to the observer (such as a
driver) depending on the situation when water droplets are adhered.
This might even change the viewing field direction or the like of
the image seen with no water droplets, leading to misrecognition of
the direction of the target. In an image simultaneously displayed
with a guide line depicting the traveling direction by signal
processing in particular, the background image alone would be
shifted with the guide line not having been influenced by the water
droplet, leading to misrecognition.
Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 4, in a state where a single
water droplet 402 adheres to the lens 401, the water droplet 402
functions as a conversion lens (convex lens). In addition, the lens
characteristics from the predetermined design magnification of the
original lens 401 might be changed to allow the water droplets to
influence on the entire captured image of the camera 400. This
might result in a state where the captured image horizontally
shifts or the droplet functions like zooming lens and might change
viewing ranges and directions. Such an abnormal state of the image
is a relative change such as a change in the magnification and a
deviation of the image, and thus, an observer such as a driver
might overlook such abnormality. In a case where the driver
continues to steer the vehicle with wrong recognition of the
abnormal image as a normal image, the driver might make a mistake
in the steering.
In short, a miniaturized lens of the camera leads to a relatively
larger proportion of one particle of water droplet adhering to the
surface of the lens with respect to the effective diameter of the
lens. Specifically, when the effective diameter of the lens becomes
ten and several millimeters or less, the viewing angle of the
camera is covered widely with only one water droplet, causing the
influence of the water droplet to appear on the entire screen of a
view monitor, or the like.
Furthermore, a lens exposed to the outside of the camera like an
in-vehicle camera need waterproof treatment to prevent entry of
moisture into the camera. For example, in cold climates such as
North America and Northern Europe, de-icing agent sprayed on the
road surface adheres to the vehicle body, leading to the use of
washing water with high temperature and high pressure exceeding 100
degrees to be blown to the vehicle at the time of car wash.
Accordingly, waterproof measures against high pressure wash water
would also be needed for in-vehicle cameras as well.
For example, in a case where an elastic waterproof packing such as
an elastomer member is sandwiched between an optical lens member
and a camera lens barrel member to implement a waterproof
treatment, it would be preferable to screw a ring-shaped pushing
member to crush the waterproof packing so as to ensure resistance
against water pressure. For example, a screw structure is provided
outside the optical effective diameter of the lens, and the
waterproof packing is sandwiched by a ring-shaped push-in screw.
Miniaturizing the entire camera while adopting such a waterproof
structure would further reduce the effective diameter permitted as
a lens. This might make the above-described influence given by the
water droplets adhering to the surface of the lens on the captured
image of the camera further remarkable.
In contrast, separating the water droplet adhesion surface away
from the lens or optical window of the camera would reduce the
proportion of one particle of water droplet with respect to the
lens effective diameter (or the entire captured image of the
camera), or would suppress the state where the entire screen of a
view monitor, etc. is covered with a single water droplet, and
instead would allow a plurality of water droplets to appear. This
enables the presence of water droplets on the screen to be
apparent, allowing the observer such as the driver to visually
recognize the presence of water droplets by visual observation of
the image. This leads to achievement of effective prevention of
misrecognition and erroneous steering of the vehicle accompanying
the misrecognition.
The present specification proposes, as one means for separating the
water droplet adhesion surface from the camera lens or the optical
window, as illustrated in FIG. 5, installation of a transparent
optical protection window cover 503 at a portion in front of a lens
(or optical window) 501 of a camera 500. This optical protection
window cover 503 is inserted into the opening 510 on the vehicle
body side together with the camera 500 main body.
As observed from FIG. 5, the water droplet 502 attached to the
surface of the optical protection window cover 503 is separated
from the lens 501 of the camera 500. This suppress adhesion of
water droplets to the surface of the lens 501 and achieves
reduction in the proportion of the water droplet 502 adhered to the
surface of the optical protection window cover 503 with respect to
the viewing angle (in other words, the entire captured image) of
the camera 500, or allows the water droplet in the captured image
of the camera 500 displayed on a view monitor or the like to be
divided into a plurality of water droplets. This enables the
presence of water droplet 502 on the screen to be apparent,
allowing the observer such as the driver to visually recognize the
presence of the water droplet 502 by visual observation of the
image. This leads to achievement of effective prevention of
misrecognition and erroneous steering of the vehicle accompanying
the misrecognition. Basically, the screen displaying the captured
image of the camera 500 might include the image partially disturbed
due to the water droplet and sometimes not perfect for observation.
Still, the driver would thus carefully try to grasp what appears in
the image at the time of image recognition, leading to assurance of
security.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a state before the optical
protection window cover 503 is attached to the surface of the
camera 500 inserted in the vehicle body (a state where the optical
protection window cover 503 is separated from the camera 500 and
the opening 510). In contrast, FIG. 7 illustrates a state where the
optical protection window cover 503 is attached to the surface of
the camera 500 inserted in the vehicle body.
The optical protection window cover 503 includes a head 601 for
protecting the lens or optical window of the camera and a
cylindrical body 602 mounted to the opening of the vehicle body and
configured to accommodate the camera main body.
The head 601 has a spherical shape and is disposed to be separated
from the lens or the optical window of the camera apparatus.
Accordingly, as compared with the case where water droplets adhere
to the surface of the lens or the optical window of the camera
apparatus, the proportion of water droplets adhered to the surface
of the head 601 with respect to the viewing angle (in other words,
the entire captured image) of the camera is smaller.
The body 602 molded with a precise mold has a hollow or cylindrical
shape for internally accommodating the camera. As illustrated in
FIG. 7, the body 602 is inserted into the gap between the camera
and the opening of the vehicle body into which the camera is
inserted. In addition, it can be said that insertion of the body
602 would allow the camera to be firmly mounted to the opening of
the vehicle body. Furthermore, mounting the camera to the opening
of the vehicle body via the body 602 would make it possible to
obtain a high mounting accuracy in the optical axis direction of
the camera. This makes it possible to mount the camera to the
vehicle body with the optical axis of the lens set in a desired
direction, it is possible to suppress an undesirable situation such
as displaying a video image with an inclined road (or skewed
distortion) on the screen.
As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the entire optical protection
window cover 503 is a molded article including an acrylic resin or
the like having an inverted U-shaped cross section. The optical
protection window cover 503 can also be functionally referred to as
a "jacket" for the camera body from the viewpoint of covering,
using its body 602, the side surface of the camera apparatus main
body and implementing positional alignment of the camera
apparatus.
Furthermore, the body 602 includes, at its middle portion in the
depth direction, a waterproof ring 603 including an elastomer or
the like, with waterproof treatment to prevent entry of water deep
into the camera mounted to the opening. When the body 602 is
inserted into the gap between the camera apparatus main body and
the opening of the vehicle body, the waterproof ring 603 is crushed
to ensure resistance to water pressure. For example, in cold
climates such as North America and Northern Europe, high
temperature and high pressure washing water exceeding 100 degrees
is sprayed at the time of car washing in order to remove de-icing
agent attached to the vehicle body, and thus, it is important to
ensure resistance to water pressure.
While the waterproof ring 603 may have a simple shape of a circle
or an ellipse, it is possible, as illustrated in the drawing, to
provide a double waterproof structure having a constricted part
near the center, thereby dispersing water pressure at the bulging
portions at both ends of the constriction and reliably stopping the
water flow at the bulging portion of the second stage (deeper
side).
FIG. 15 is an enlarged illustration of a structure around the
waterproof ring 603. A mechanism of waterproofing will be described
in detail with reference to the figure.
In the opening of the vehicle body, a linear protrusion 1501 may be
formed along the outline of the head 601 of the optical protection
window cover 503. For example, it is assumed that a high-pressure
water stream is blown to the vicinity of the boundary between the
head 601 and the opening when the vehicle body undergoes high
pressure washing. With the presence of the protrusion 1501, it is
possible to avoid entry of the high-pressure water flow into the
opening from the boundary between the head 601 and the opening.
Furthermore, the optical protection window cover 503 includes an
influent trap 1502 including linear grooves in a waist direction on
the front side of the waterproof ring 603 (or on the side close to
the opening portion of the vehicle body), on the body 602. The
boundary gap between the head 601 and the receiving hole opening
510 is narrow. Accordingly, even when a high pressure water flow
enters from one location of the boundary 604 between the opening
510 and the protrusion 1501, the water flow that has reached the
influent trap 1502 loses its velocity at a bent flow path and is
dispersed in the waist direction so as to alleviate the water
pressure. This would make it possible to suppress further entry of
the water current into a deeper portion. Particularly, forming a
rising wall 605 (the protrusion 1501) in the vicinity of the
boundary line 604 while minimizing the shape of the recess around
the opening 510 would be able to change the flow path of the high
pressure wash water blown to the peripheral portion, leading to
acquisition of an effect of reducing the inflow pressure of the
water flow into the gap.
The waterproof ring 603 may be formed in an elastomer member, for
example, and may have a double waterproof structure having a
constricted part near the center, thereby dispersing water pressure
at the bulging portions at both ends of the constriction and
reliably stopping the water flow at the bulging portion of the
second stage (deeper side). Furthermore, even when the low-pressure
water enters temporarily from the influent trap 1502 in front, the
pressure is stabilized at the first stage portion of the waterproof
ring 603. Accordingly, there is substantially no possibility of
flowing beyond the second stage, leading to assurance of
waterproof.
Furthermore, as illustrated in the drawing, with a configuration of
the waterproof ring 603 in a shape having a long cross section in
the axial direction of the ring (or the longitudinal direction of
the body 602), it is possible to eliminate the shape instability
and avoid, for example, failure in waterproof due to twisting of
the ring, having a secondary effect of suppressing the reduction of
yield, or the like.
Features regarding the mounting of the optical protection window
cover illustrated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 will be summarized
below.
(1) The optical protection window cover is disposed so as to be
separated from the lens of the camera or the optical window. With
this configuration, it is possible to reduce the proportion of the
water droplets adhering to the optical protection window cover with
respect to the viewing angle of the camera (or the entire screen of
a view monitor or the like).
(2) The optical protection window cover is constructed as a
component which can be replaced with respect to the camera and the
opening of the vehicle body. Openings constructed as portion of
large components (front grille, rear garnish, mirror housing, etc.)
can only be molded with general tolerances. In contrast, since the
optical protective cover is a small component, it can be precisely
molded.
(3) The optical protection window cover is configured as a mounting
and fixture structure used as a lock jacket for securing the camera
to the opening of the vehicle body. While it is difficult to form
an opening with high precision in the vehicle body, providing a
precise lock structure with a lock jacket makes it possible to
ensure a high mounting accuracy in the optical axis direction of
the camera. This makes it possible to mount the camera to the
vehicle body with the optical axis of the lens set in a desired
direction, it is possible to suppress an undesirable situation such
as displaying a video image with an inclined road (or skewed
distortion) on the screen.
(4) Adopting a POP rivet (trade name of Nippon POP Rivets and
Fasteners Co. Ltd.) and other two-step lock structure in the lock
jacket structure for securing the camera with the optical
protection window cover makes it possible to ensure the stable
holding performance of the camera apparatus. This structure is just
like a mechanism to open a puzzle box, using a mechanism to unlock
in two steps. Furthermore, the use of configuration to be unlocked
only from inside of the vehicle body, such as when the trunk is
opened, would make it possible to enhance the effect of preventing
the theft of removing the camera apparatus from the vehicle
body.
(5) With a configuration of closely adhering the waterproof
elastomer member to the middle portion of the body of the optical
protection window cover, it is possible to improve the handling
property at the time of manufacture and the yield by eliminating
alignment instability as well as reduce disadvantageous
situations.
The optical protection window cover 503 illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7
includes: a hollow or cylindrical body 602 covering the side
surface of the camera apparatus main body; and a head 601 covering
the front surface of the camera apparatus and arranged to be
separated from the lens or the optical window. As described above,
the head 601 plays a role of reducing the proportion of water
droplets with respect to the entire captured image of the camera
when the head 601 moves water droplets attached to the surface away
from the lens or optical window of the camera apparatus. Meanwhile,
there is also another use case including no adverse effect of water
droplets, and where it is not necessary to protect the lens or
optical window of the camera apparatus from water droplets, and
thus it is sufficient as long as the camera apparatus can be
mounted with high accuracy.
FIG. 8 illustrates a modification of the lock jacket of the camera
apparatus. The figure illustrates a cross section of a lock jacket
800 attached to the opening of the vehicle body together with the
camera apparatus. The illustrated lock jacket 800 is constituted
simply by a hollow or cylindrical body covering the side surface of
the camera apparatus main body and does not include a head covering
the lens or the optical window of the camera apparatus. Therefore,
the lock jacket 800 can just provide a lock structure that secures
the camera apparatus to the opening of the vehicle body with high
mounting accuracy, without a function of reducing the proportion of
water droplets with respect to the entire captured image of the
camera.
In a case where there is substantially no adverse effect of water
droplets and it is not necessary to protect the lens or optical
window of the camera apparatus from water droplets, it is
sufficient to use a lock jacket (without a protective window cover)
as illustrated in FIG. 8 to implement a high-accuracy mounting
structure of the camera apparatus rather than using an optical
protection window cover (provided with a lock jacket structure).
Examples of the case where there is no adverse effect of water
droplets include a case of an in-vehicle camera mounted on a
vehicle that is supposed to travel in a region with less rainfall,
a case where the effective diameter of the lens is not small and
thus it is not probable that adhesion of one water droplet would
cover the entire captured image, or the like.
Note that the lock jacket 800 includes, at its middle portion in
the depth direction, a waterproof ring 801 including an elastomer
or the like, with waterproof treatment to prevent entry of water
deep into the opening of the vehicle body. When the lock jacket 800
is inserted into the gap between the camera apparatus main body and
the opening of the vehicle body, the waterproof ring 801 is crushed
to ensure resistance to water pressure. Furthermore, an influent
trap 802 is formed in front of the waterproof ring 801.
In the configuration example illustrated in FIG. 8, a mechanism for
securing the camera apparatus in the opening by the lock jacket 800
and locking the camera apparatus at the mounting position will be
additionally described.
As illustrated in the drawing, the cross section of the lock jacket
800 has a substantially T-shaped upper end edge. The vertical
portion of the T-shape corresponds to a portion of the cylinder
covering the side surface of the camera apparatus main body.
Furthermore, the horizontal portion of the T-shape protrudes toward
the outside and the inside of the opening of the vehicle body.
The protrusion 811 protruding to the outside of the horizontal
portion of the T-shape abuts against the edge portion of the
opening on the vehicle body side to hold the lock jacket 800 so as
not to be excessively inserted deep into the opening. Furthermore,
the protrusion 812 protruding inward of the horizontal portion of
the T-shape abuts against the upper side edge of the camera
apparatus main body. As illustrated in the drawing, a notch may be
formed on the upper side edge of the camera apparatus main body so
as to engage with the protrusion 812 toward the inner portion of
the horizontal portion of the T-shape.
The camera apparatus is held by the protrusion 812 on the
horizontal portion of the T-shape in a state where the lock jacket
800 is attached, and thus, the camera apparatus cannot rise from
the opening on the vehicle body side. Therefore, in a case where
the lock jacket 800 is secured at a position in the opening, the
camera apparatus is locked by the lock jacket 800 and cannot be
removed from the opening. FIG. 8 omits illustration of a lock
structure for locking the lock jacket 800 to the opening of the
vehicle body. The use of configuration of the lock structure to be
unlocked only from inside of the vehicle body, such as when the
trunk is opened, would make it possible to enhance the effect of
preventing the theft of the camera apparatus from the vehicle
body.
FIG. 9 illustrates a state in which a camera apparatus 901 and a
lock jacket 902 are removed from an opening 903 on the side of the
vehicle body. Note that, for the sake of convenience, FIG. 9
schematically illustrates the camera apparatus 901 as a cube, the
lock jacket 902 as a hollow outer frame covering the cube, the
opening 903 as a recess having a shape capable of inserting the
cube with the outer frame, individually as simplified shapes.
The opening 903 is a recess (socket) for inserting the camera
apparatus 901 which is molded in the vehicle body (front grille,
rear garnish, mirror housing, etc.). Although the opening 903 has
an electrical contact with the camera apparatus 901 on the bottom
surface or the side surface, the contact is not illustrated in FIG.
9.
The opening 903 is a part of a large component such as a front
grille, a rear garnish, a mirror housing, and can only be molded by
general tolerance. The accuracy of the mold used for manufacturing
these components is lowered roughly one order of magnitude with
respect to the accuracy of the precision components used in the
camera. Therefore, in a case where the camera apparatus 901 is
directly mounted to the opening 903 of the vehicle body, it is
extremely difficult to ensure the tolerance accuracy of the
mounting direction of the camera apparatus 901 enabling the optical
axis of the lens to be set in the intended direction. In a case
where the driver views, on a view monitor screen in the car, the
image captured by the camera apparatus 901 mounted in such a state,
there is a risk of taking an erroneous steering direction,
extremely dangerous from the viewpoint of safety.
In contrast, in the present embodiment, the opening 903 out of the
vehicle body has a configuration using a nested structure created
with higher precision separately from the sites forms as a large
component in a part of the mold for molding the vehicle body. With
this configuration, it is possible to restrictedly enhance molding
accuracy of the opening 903 out of the vehicle body in the camera
mounting direction, leading to enhancement of the mounting accuracy
of the camera in the opening 903. In addition, the camera apparatus
901 is enclosed by the lock jacket 902 and is mounted to the
opening 903. The lock jacket 902 is a small component, and thus,
can be formed by precision molding. Therefore, it is easy to ensure
the tolerance accuracy of the mounting direction of the camera
apparatus 901 so as to set the optical axis of the lens to be in
the intended direction. In a case where the driver views, on a view
monitor screen in the car, the image captured by the camera
apparatus 901 mounted in such a state, the risk of taking an
erroneous steering direction would be low, which is preferable from
the viewpoint of safety.
In short, the lock jacket 902 is a precision-molded camera securing
jacket for implementing positional alignment of the camera
apparatus 901. Note that although not illustrated in FIG. 9, a
belt-like waterproof elastomer may be integrally formed on the
outer periphery of the lock jacket 902 (or the waterproof elastomer
may be a separate component from the lock jacket 902), so as to
provide the camera apparatus 901 with a waterproof function
(preventive measures against water inflow to the opening 903).
The optical protection window cover illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7 is
a structure having an inverted U-shaped cross section and having a
head covering the lens or the optical window of the camera
apparatus. In other words, the optical protection window cover has
a structure in which the head is closed. For this reason, as
illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, there is a need to attach the camera
apparatus and the optical protection window cover to the opening of
the vehicle body in this order, and it is not possible to mount the
camera apparatus after attaching the optical protection window. In
contrast, the lock jacket illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 has an
opening in the head. Accordingly, it is possible to configure such
that the lock jacket is first inserted and then the camera
apparatus is inserted, rather than the order of the camera
apparatus and the lock jacket.
FIG. 10 illustrates a specific configuration example of a lock
mechanism of a lock jacket 1000. The upper part of the drawing
illustrates a cross sectional configuration when a camera apparatus
1020 is attached to an opening 1010 of the vehicle body together
with the lock jacket 1000. Furthermore, the lower part of the
drawing illustrates top view of the opening 1010 of the vehicle
body in a state where the camera apparatus 1020 is attached
together with the lock jacket 1000 (the upper part of the drawing
is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A'). The illustrated
lock jacket 1000 does not include a head covering the lens of the
camera apparatus or the optical window, and includes a waterproof
ring 1001 including an elastomer or the like disposed at an
intermediate portion in the depth direction of the body (same as
above).
There is provided a latch unit 1002 protruding at a position of the
lower edge of the outer side surface of the hollow lock jacket
1000. Meanwhile, a wall surface of the opening 1010 of the vehicle
body includes a recess, namely, a fitting portion 1011 having a
shape and dimension suitably engaging with the latch unit 1002, at
a portion corresponding to the latch unit 1002. As will be
described later, the latch unit 1002 is fitted to the fitting
portion 1011, whereby the lock jacket 1000 is secured to the
opening 1010 of the vehicle body.
Furthermore, there is also a latch unit 1003 protruding
substantially at the center of the inner surface of the hollow lock
jacket 1000. Meanwhile, a side wall surface of the camera apparatus
1020 includes a recess, namely, a fitting portion 1021 having a
shape and dimension suitably engaging with the latch unit 1003, at
a portion corresponding to the latch unit 1003. As will be
described later, the latch unit 1003 is fitted to the fitting
portion 1021, whereby the camera apparatus 1020 is secured to the
lock jacket 1000.
In summary, with the double lock structure in which the latch unit
1002 of the lock jacket 1000 is fitted to the fitting portion 1011
of the opening 1010 while the latch unit 1003 of the lock jacket
1000 is fitted to the fitting portion 1021 of the camera apparatus
1020, the camera apparatus 1020 is secured to the opening 1010 of
the vehicle body together with the lock jacket 1000, and is brought
into a locked state.
Since the vehicle body is a large-sized part, it has only to
perform molding with general tolerance, and it is roughly about one
order of magnitude to the precision of the precision components
used for the camera. In contrast, the opening 1010 out of the
vehicle body has a configuration using a nested structure created
with higher precision separately from the sites forms as a large
component in a part of the mold for molding the vehicle body. With
this configuration, it is possible to restrictedly enhance molding
accuracy of the opening 1010 out of the vehicle body in the camera
mounting direction, leading to enhancement of the mounting accuracy
of the camera in the opening 1010. In addition, since the lock
jacket 1000 is a small component, it can be precisely molded. This
makes it possible to secure a high mounting accuracy of the camera
apparatus 1020 in the optical axis direction. This enables mounting
the camera apparatus 1020 to the vehicle body with the optical axis
of the lens set in a desired direction, leading to suppression of
an undesirable situation such as displaying a video image with an
inclined road (or skewed distortion) on a monitor screen.
An operation procedure for attaching the camera apparatus 1020 and
the lock jacket 1000 to the opening 1010 of the vehicle body will
be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 14.
First, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the camera apparatus 1020 is
inserted about half way to the lock jacket 1000, and insertion of
this lock jacket 1000 to the opening 1010 of the vehicle body is
started. The lower edge portion of the lock jacket 1000 where the
latch unit 1002 protrudes has a greater wall thickness and thus is
slightly larger than the dimension of the inner periphery of the
opening 1010. However, the lock jacket 1000 can be inwardly bent to
be deformed at a portion where the latch unit 1002 protrudes in a
state where the camera apparatus 1020 is not completely inserted.
This makes it possible to further insert the lock jacket 1000
deeper of the opening 1010.
Subsequently, when the latch unit 1002 reaches the fitting portion
1011 formed on the wall surface near the bottom of the opening
1010, the latch unit 1002 is engaged with the fitting portion 1011
and the lock jacket 1000 restores from the deformed state to the
original state, as illustrated in FIG. 12. Furthermore, the lock
jacket 1000 is retained with the opening 1010 so as to complete
attachment of the lock jacket 1000 to the opening 1010. However, at
this point in time, the camera apparatus 1020 is in a state being
half inserted to the lock jacket 1000 (as well as the opening
1010).
After completion of attachment of the lock jacket 1000 to the
opening 1010, the camera apparatus 1020 is inserted further deep
into the lock jacket 1000 (and the opening 1010). Since the portion
of the hollow lock jacket 1000 where the latch unit 1003 protrudes
at an approximate center of the inner surface has a greater wall
thickness, and thus is slightly smaller than the outer dimension of
the camera apparatus 1020. Accordingly, as illustrated in FIG. 13,
the camera apparatus 1020 is inserted further into the opening 1010
while slightly bending outward in the vicinity of the latch unit
1003 of the lock jacket 1000.
In addition, when the fitting portion 1021 formed on the side wall
surface of the camera apparatus 1020 reaches the latch unit 1003 of
the lock jacket 1000, the latch unit 1003 is engaged with the
fitting portion 1021 to allow the lock jacket 1000 to be restored
from the bent state to the original state, as illustrated in FIG.
14. Furthermore, the camera apparatus 1020 is retained with the
lock jacket 1000 so as to complete attachment of the camera
apparatus 1020 to the lock jacket 1000. Completion of the
attachment of the lock jacket 1000 to the opening 1010 represents
completion of the attachment of the camera apparatus 1020 to the
lock jacket 1000, being locked to the opening 1010 of the vehicle
body.
In this manner, here completed is double lock operation in which
the latch unit 1002 of the lock jacket 1000 is fitted to the
fitting portion 1011 of the opening 1010 of the vehicle body while
the latch unit 1003 of the lock jacket 1000 is fitted to the
fitting portion 1021 of the camera apparatus 1020. With reference
to FIG. 10 and FIG. 14, it is observed that it is difficult, with
such a double lock structure, to perform crime prevention of
pulling the camera apparatus 1020 from the outside of the vehicle
body. The use of configuration of the double lock structure to be
unlocked only from inside of the vehicle body, such as when the
trunk is opened, for example, would make it possible to enhance the
effect of preventing the theft of the camera apparatus from the
vehicle body.
A lock jacket not including a head covering the lens of the camera
apparatus or the optical window can be manufactured by sheet metal
processing, for example. It is of course possible to construct an
optical protection window cover (not illustrated) combining a head
including a transparent member such as acrylic with a body (lock
jacket) including sheet metal. FIG. 16 illustrates a state where a
camera apparatus 1620 is attached to an opening 1630 of the vehicle
body using a sheet metal lock jacket 1610. While this example
handles the lock jacket structure as a jacket structure separate
from the camera, it is allowable to integrate a mechanism for
attaching to the vehicle body with a corresponding lock structure
into the camera, use a hybrid configuration in which different
materials are combined, or use a different type of spring from the
latch unit for locking. In short, it is not necessary to be limited
to a structure including one material illustrated in FIG. 16.
Furthermore, in order to improve the accuracy of the fitting
portion of the opening portion 1010 of the vehicle body to be
fitted, the mounting portion including the opening portion 1010 is
incorporated partially as the precise nested mold structure with
respect to the mold for larger components manufactured as a vehicle
body, making it possible to form a high-precision shape with
respect to a local part to which a camera is to be mounted, while
keeping a large component with a lower molding accuracy.
FIG. 17 illustrates a front view, a side view, a perspective view,
and a detailed view of a latch unit of a lock jacket 1700 including
sheet metal. The lock jacket 1700 has a tubular shape enveloping
the side surface of the camera apparatus, and can be manufactured
by first punching a single flat metal into a desired shape and then
repeating bending processing on the metal.
The feature of the lock jacket including a latch unit for engaging
with the opening of the vehicle body and another latch unit to be
engaged with the camera apparatus accommodated inside is as
described above with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14. In the example
illustrated in FIG. 17, a latch unit 1701 for fitting with the
opening of the vehicle body is a spring plate manufactured by
bending a tongue piece formed at a lower edge of the flat plate as
the base of the lock jacket 1700 to the outside of the cylinder.
Furthermore, a latch unit 1702 for fitting with the camera
apparatus is a spring plate manufactured by bending a tongue piece
formed at a side edge of the flat plate as the base of the lock
jacket 1700 to the inside of the cylinder. Arranging a pair of
latch units 1701 at two positions on the opposing side surfaces of
the lock jacket 1700 enables firm retention to the opening of the
vehicle body as compared with the case where the single unit is
provided, leading to suppression unlocking from the outside, or
removal of the camera apparatus together with the lock jacket 1700.
Similarly, arranging a pair of latch units 1702 at two positions on
the opposing side surfaces of the lock jacket 1700 enables firm
retention of the camera apparatus as compared with the case where
the single unit is provided, leading to suppression unlocking from
the outside, or removal of the camera apparatus.
For example, when the lock jacket 1700 is started to be inserted
into the opening of the vehicle body, the spring plate-shaped latch
unit 1701 bends so as to escape to the inside of the main body
(cylinder) of the lock jacket 1700, making it possible to further
insert the lock jacket 1700 into a deeper portion of the body. In
addition, when the latch unit 1701 reaches the fitting portion
formed on the wall surface in the vicinity of the bottom of the
opening, the latch unit 1701 restores the original shape from the
state in which the spring plate is bent and is fit to the fitting
portion formed on the wall surface of the opening. This completes
installation of the lock jacket 1700 to the vehicle body.
Furthermore, when the lock jacket 1700 is attached to the vehicle
body and thereafter the camera apparatus is started to be inserted
into the lock jacket 1700, a spring plate-shaped latch unit 1612
bends so as to escape to the outside of the cylinder, making it
possible to further insert the camera apparatus into the deeper
portion of the lock jacket 1700 (or opening). In addition, when the
fitting portion formed on the side wall surface of the camera
apparatus reaches the latch unit 1702 of the lock jacket 1700, the
latch unit 1702 is restored to its original shape from the state in
which the spring plate is bent and is fitted to the fitting portion
of the camera apparatus. This completes installation of the camera
apparatus to the lock jacket 1700, in a state of being locked to
the vehicle body.
FIG. 18 is a perspective view illustrating a state where a camera
apparatus 1800 is attached to an opening 1811 of a vehicle body
1810 using a sheet metal lock jacket. The vehicle body 1810 is, for
example, a front grille, a rear garnish, a mirror housing, or the
like. Furthermore, FIG. 19 is an enlarged view of the camera
apparatus 1800 attached to the opening 1811 of the vehicle body
1810. In addition, FIG. 20 is an enlarged view illustrating a state
where simply a lock jacket is attached to the opening 1811 of the
vehicle body 1810 (a state in which the camera apparatus is not yet
mounted).
FIG. 21 illustrates a cross-sectional view and a perspective view
of a lock jacket and a camera apparatus attached to the opening of
the vehicle body. From this figure, it is observed that the double
structure is provided in which the latching unit of the lock jacket
is fitted to the fitting portion formed on the wall surface of the
opening and the other latching unit of the lock jacket is fitted
into the fitting portion formed on the wall surface of the camera
apparatus. Such a double lock structure is configured to be
unlocked only from the inside the vehicle body such as at the time
of opening the trunk, for example. This makes it possible to
enhance the effect of preventing the theft of removing the camera
apparatus from the vehicle body.
Referring back to FIG. 16, both the latch unit 1611 to be engaged
with the fitting portion formed in the opening 1630 of the vehicle
body and the latch unit 1612 to be engaged with the fitting portion
formed on the side wall surface of the camera apparatus 1620 are
configured as spring plates. For example, it is possible to insert
a tip of a flat-blade screwdriver or the like having a fixed
prescribed thickness from the inside of the vehicle body, such as
at the time of opening the trunk, into the gap of the spring plate
so as to unlock the retention state of the latch unit with the
opening of the vehicle body and the fitting portion of the camera
apparatus (refer to FIG. 22). Enabling unlocking by inserting a
tool with a prescribed thickness makes it possible to suppress
extra displacement more than necessary at the time of unlatching,
leading to prevention of breakage and fall by unreasonable
un-latching at opening and closing at replacement.
FIGS. 23 and 24 illustrate another configuration example of a lock
jacket 2300 including sheet metal. The illustrated example differs
from the configuration example illustrated in FIGS. 16 to 21 in
that the lock jacket 2300 is combined with a waterproof ring
2310.
The lock jacket 2300 includes a pair of latch units 2301 to be
secured to an opening (not illustrated) of the vehicle body and a
pair of latch units 2302 for securing a camera apparatus 2320 to
the inside. Although the lock jacket 1610 illustrated in FIGS. 16
to 21 covers substantially the entire side surface of the camera
apparatus, the lock jacket 2300 illustrated in FIG. 22 covers
substantially the lower half of the side surface of the camera
apparatus 2320.
On the upper side of the lock jacket 2300 (lens side of the camera
apparatus 2320), a waterproof ring 2310 including an elastomer or
the like is attached. Further above the waterproof ring 2310, there
is provided a collar-shaped block member 2340 for blocking straight
high-speed running water such as high-pressure washing water so as
to prevent the water flowing in at high speed from directly hitting
the interface with the waterproof ring 2310, leading to further
enhancement of the effect of waterproofing.
FIGS. 25 to 27 illustrate examples of a configuration of an
electrical contact with the outside of a camera apparatus 2500. The
illustrated example includes a connector plug 2510 having a
plurality of plate-shaped or blade-shaped electrodes arranged in
parallel provided on one side edge of the back surface (the bottom
surface opposite to the lens or the optical window) of the main
body of the camera apparatus 2500. Corresponding to this connector
plug 2510, it is assumed that a connector receptacle (not
illustrated) including a plurality of slit-like terminals for
receiving the individual plugs of the connector plug 2510 is
provided at a corresponding position of the opening of the vehicle
body. It is assumed that the electrical contact between the camera
apparatus 2500 and the outside preferably uses four to six signal
lines and the connector plug 2510 includes four to six electrodes,
accordingly.
In addition, when the camera apparatus 2500 is inserted into the
opening of the vehicle body, each of the plate-like or blade-like
electrodes included in the connector plug 2510 is slidably inserted
into each of the slit-shaped terminals on the connector receptacle
disposed in a corresponding position of the opening of the vehicle
body. Allowing the electrode to come in contact with the
slit-shaped terminal in a surface contact enables acquisition of a
large contact area, making it possible to implement highly reliable
electrical connection of the connector including such a connector
plug and the connector receptacle. Note that the connector
structure including a connector plug formed with a plurality of
plate-shaped or blade-shaped electrodes and including the connector
receptacle formed with a plurality of slit-like terminals is a
known structure (refer to Patent Document 3, for example).
As illustrated in FIGS. 25 to 27, when the plugs constituting the
connector plug 2510 are oriented in a direction perpendicular to
the optical axis of the lens of the camera apparatus 2500, the
camera apparatus 2500 is preferably inserted slidably into the
connector receptacle on the opening side of the vehicle body by
pressing the camera apparatus 2500 in the direction in which the
electrodes of the connector plug 2510 are oriented.
For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 28 and 29, it is possible to
include a cam structure having a response shape in a direction
perpendicular to the insertion direction provided on an outer wall
of a camera apparatus 2810 and an inner wall of a lock jacket 2820,
along a depth direction (direction of insertion into the opening of
the vehicle body) and then, it is possible to activate a force to
press a connector plug (not illustrated) of the camera apparatus
2810 toward a connector receptacle 2831 of an opening 2830 of the
vehicle body, enabling suitable sliding insertion of the connector
plug into the connector 2831.
Furthermore, FIG. 30 illustrates another configuration example of
an electrical contact with the outside of a camera apparatus 3000.
In the illustrated example, a coaxial cable is used for electrical
connection between the camera apparatus 3000 and the outside
(vehicle body), and a connector plug 3001 for a coaxial cable is
provided on a back surface (bottom surface on the opposite side to
the lens or the optical window) of the camera apparatus 3000.
Although not illustrated, it is assumed that a connector receptacle
for a coaxial cable compatible with the connector plug 3001 is
disposed at a corresponding position on the bottom surface of the
opening of the vehicle body. In such a case, a signal line and a
power line can be superimposed and transmitted via the coaxial
cable, between the camera apparatus 3000 and the vehicle.
Electrical connection using a coaxial cable has advantages such as
capability of suppression of leakage of electromagnetic waves to
the outside and capability of transmission in a wide frequency
range.
As for the method of connecting the connector plug 3001 and the
camera apparatus 3000, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the connector plug
3001 is provisionally held at a position enabling its positional
relationship with the camera apparatus 3000 being fitted with the
connector receptor portion on the back surface of the lens of the
camera apparatus 3000, and then, the camera apparatus 3000 is
pushed in and fixed to a predetermined fixing position, whereby the
plug and the receptor of the connector are fitted to each other to
complete the electrical connection. In this fitted configuration,
for example, there is provided a wall surface 511 to suppress
escape of the connector plug portion attached to the tip of a
harness in FIG. 5 to the back side of the camera mounting portion.
Such a configuration would enable a structure that suppresses
removal of the connector portion after fixation of the connector
receptacle by the connector plug 3001 on the back side of the
camera apparatus 300, even when the harness is pulled, making it
possible achieve high removal resistance tolerance. In other words,
the main body of the camera apparatus 3000 acts like a key of a
puzzle box. Mounting the camera apparatus 3000 to a predetermined
position can enhance the harness removal resistance capability.
In the above embodiments, the precise fixing member of the camera
is illustrated as a mounting structure as a separate component
separated as a jacket. Alternatively, however, it is also possible
to incorporate a component corresponding to the jacket integrally
with a component on the vehicle body side, or integrally with the
camera side components, and it is not limited to the exemplified
embodiment of the present specification. Examples of a method of
integrating the jacket to the attachment site of either the vehicle
body side or the camera side include adhesion, ultrasonic welding,
laser welding, integral insert molding, outsert incorporation,
thermal welding, and the like.
Furthermore, while the vehicle body 1810 is molded with ordinary
molding accuracy and thus manufactured with a general tolerance
molding accuracy, there is provided a nested structure created with
more precise mold as a part of a mold at the molding formed in a
recessed shape in the opening 1811 for mounting the camera,
separate from site for forming a large component. This
configuration makes it possible to improve and assure the accuracy
of the mounting direction of the opening 1811 for mounting the
camera and to further improve the mounting accuracy of the camera.
Additionally, preparing as a high precision nested configurations
of the recessed shape for the fitting portion to which this camera
is mounted would enable common use of the nested configuration
created for common use even for the vehicle body structural shapes
differing for individual vehicle types and customers, leading to
easy maintenance of a high mounting accuracy as a fitting for
mounting the camera.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
The technology disclosed in the present specification has been
described in detail with reference to specific embodiments. Still,
it is self-evident that those skilled in the art can make
modifications and substitutions of the embodiments without
departing from the scope and spirit of the technology disclosed in
the present disclosure.
The technology disclosed in the present specification can be
applied to installation of an in-vehicle camera to a vehicle body
used in a state of being attached to a vehicle for various uses
such as a view monitor and image recognition.
In general, the vehicle corresponds to a four-wheeled automobile
under the Road Traffic Act. However, the technology disclosed in
the present specification can be similarly applied to railway
vehicles, construction vehicles, and agricultural vehicles in
addition to general vehicles. Furthermore, the technology disclosed
in the present specification can similarly be applied to various
types of mobile devices such as aircraft, ships, small unmanned
aircraft (drones), or robots.
In short, the technology disclosed in the present specification has
been described in the form of exemplification, and the contents of
the description of the present specification should not be
interpreted restrictively. For determination of the scope and
spirit of the technology disclosed in the present specification,
the appended claims should be taken into consideration.
Note that the technology disclosed in the present specification may
have the following configuration.
(1) A camera mounting structure including: an opening formed in a
vehicle body for accommodating an in-vehicle camera; and a jacket
retained on the opening and configured to retain the in-vehicle
camera.
(2) The camera mounting structure according to (1), in which the
jacket includes a body that covers a side surface of the in-vehicle
camera.
(3) The camera mounting structure according to any of (1) or (2),
in which the jacket further includes a transparent head that covers
a lens or an optical window of the in-vehicle camera.
(4) The camera mounting structure according to (3), in which the
head is disposed to be separated from the lens or the optical
window of the in-vehicle camera.
(5) The camera mounting structure according to any of (1) to (4),
further including a waterproof part configured to prevent water
flowing into a gap between the opening and the in-vehicle
camera.
(6) The camera mounting structure according to (5), in which the
jacket includes an influent trap in front of the waterproof
part.
(7) The camera mounting structure according to any of (1) to (6),
in which the jacket includes a first latch unit, and the opening
includes a first fitting portion to be fitted with the first latch
unit.
(8) The camera mounting structure according to any of (1) to (7),
in which the jacket includes a second latch unit, and the
in-vehicle camera includes a second fitting portion to be fitted
with the second latch unit.
(9) The camera mounting structure according to any of (1) to (8),
further including a connector to electrically connect the
in-vehicle camera to the vehicle body at the opening.
(10) The camera mounting structure according to (9), in which the
connector includes: a connector plug disposed in the in-vehicle
camera; and a connector receptacle disposed at a corresponding
location on the opening.
(11) The camera mounting structure according to (10), in which the
connector plug further includes a cam structure to be slidably
inserted into the connector receptacle when the in-vehicle camera
is inserted into the opening.
(12) The camera mounting structure according to (9), in which the
electrical connection is implemented by using a coaxial cable.
(13) The camera mounting structure according to any of (1) to (12),
in which the opening is molded by a second mold created separately
from a first mold designed for molding the vehicle body, the second
mold being incorporated as a nested structure into a part of the
first mold.
(14) The camera mounting structure according to any of (1) to (13),
in which the jacket is integrated with the vehicle body.
(15) The camera mounting structure according to any of (1) to (13),
in which the jacket is integrated with the in-vehicle camera.
(14) A camera apparatus to be mounted to an opening of a vehicle
body using a jacket, the camera apparatus including: a fitting
portion to be fitted with a latch on the jacket side; and a
connector electrically connected to the vehicle body at the
opening.
(15) A jacket to be mounted to an opening of a vehicle body into
which a camera apparatus is to be inserted, the jacket including: a
first latch to be fitted to the opening; and a second latch to be
fitted to the camera apparatus.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
100 In-vehicle camera system 101 Front view camera 102 Rear view
camera 103, 104 Side view camera 105 Cabin view camera 111 Front
view camera ECU 112 Rear view camera ECU 113, 114 Side view camera
ECU 120 Image composition ECU 130 Shift lever 140 Display 200
Camera apparatus 210 Housing 211 Front case 212 Rear Case 213 Lens
214 Connector 215 Connector 220 Front substrate 221 Imaging element
230 Rear substrate 300 Opening 301 Connector receptacle 500 Camera
501 Lens 503 Optical protection window cover 510 Opening 601 Head
602 Body 603 Waterproof ring 800 Lock jacket 801 Waterproof ring
802 Influent trap 901 Camera apparatus 902 Lock jacket 903 Opening
(vehicle body) 1000 Lock jacket 1001 Waterproof ring 1002 Latch
unit 1003 Latch unit 1010 Opening (vehicle body) 1011 Fitting
portion 1020 Camera apparatus 1021 Fitting portion 1501 Linear
protrusion 1502 Influent trap 1610 Lock jacket 1620 Camera
apparatus 1630 Opening (vehicle body) 1700 Lock jacket 1701 Latch
unit 1702 Latch unit 1800 Camera apparatus 1810 Vehicle body 1811
Opening 2300 Lock jacket 2301 Latch unit 2302 Latch unit 2310
Waterproof ring 2320 Camera apparatus 2340 Block member 2500 Camera
apparatus 2510 Connector plug 2810 Camera apparatus 2820 Lock
jacket 2830 Opening (vehicle body) 2831 Connector receptacle
* * * * *